A man who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's toddler son faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge Thursday.

State police said 17-month-old Colby Jozefzcyk was taken from his Saltsburg home to Excela Health Latrobe Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on March 5.

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Shawn Anderson-Holmes was originally arrested on a homicide charge, but the 28-year-old man pleaded guilty instead to involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said the plea was appropriate after weighing all the evidence.

Trooper John Matchik said Anderson-Holmes put his hand over Colby's mouth to quiet the fussing child: "Mr. Anderson-Holmes increased the amount of time he held his right hand over his mouth until he realized Colby stopped breathing in his arms and died."

Colby's mother, Kayla Lyons, faces charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment, but she's not charged with homicide because police don't believe she directly played a role in his death.

"We believe that Lyons has been physically aggressive, abusive and demonstrated what appears to be neglectful behavior to both of her children in the past," said Matchik.

"I do not believe that my daughter has ever beat her kids," said Lyons' mother, Barb Keltz. "You discipline your kids. I believe in discipline. But that does not mean beat your kids."

"As far as Colby, I know that some of his bruises were from learning how to walk. I mean, he's a baby. They fall down," said Lyons' father, Jerry Lytle.

Earlier this year, police were seen removing brown bags of evidence from the boy's home on Hemlock Way, in an apartment complex run by the Indiana County Housing Authority. Listed on a search warrant was the following inventory of seized items:

The boy's father told police that he noticed severe bruises on Colby's leg and bruises on Colby's 3-year-old sister on Feb. 17, and he took them to a hospital, according to an affidavit that goes with the search warrant.

"I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't think it was that bad. We called CYS numerous times and turned her in," said Colby Jozefzcyk’s father, Jonathan.

The father said the mother told him that the children had fallen on toys at her home, where they go for weekend visits, according to the affidavit.

On March 4, the father went to the mother's home to see the kids and they were both fine, but at about 11:30 a.m. the next morning, a neighbor called him and said, "Colby quit breathing, you need to get here," according to the affidavit.

The boy's mother told police that Colby had a 102-degree temperature, so he was given a cold bath and some Tylenol and put to bed, according to the affidavit.

She told police that he felt fine when she checked on him around midnight, but Anderson-Holmes gave him a cool bath anyway while she took care of Colby's sister, who was also ill, according to the affidavit.

Anderson-Holmes said he woke up and found Colby unresponsive, with his face in the corner of his "pack n play," according to the affidavit. He told police that he picked the boy up, felt a faint pulse and breathing, and he started CPR and the mother called 911.

Deputy Coroner John Ackerman told police that Colby appeared to be malnourished, and there were bruises on his arm and cheek that appeared to be a couple of days old, plus a newer bruise on his forehead, according to the affidavit.